Want to Change Attitudes about Social Media? Make It Fun

We work with businesses of all sizes helping them understand, navigate and participate in the online space and understand the value of social media marketing.

For those of us who are old hands at that, it seems like no big deal. But for a vast number of people, even ones who are somewhat familiar with the Internet, social mediums are very much an unknown and social media marketing can seem overwhelming and very unattractive.

One thing that we strive to do is make our clients’ forays into the world of social mediums fun. “Fun?” you say – “how’s that possible?”

It’s really not as difficult as you might think – and it’s almost always about the little things.

The Corporate Blog. Take corporate blogging for instance. We often work with clients and get them started on a corporate blog. In addition to developing the blog itself, we also help develop a content marketing strategy and an editorial calendar. We work with our clients and teach them how to write content that is not only informative, but also interesting, entertaining and a nice representation of their brand.

Finding Fun. In the process, kind of in stealth mode, and while they might not realize it, we’re showing people how fun it can be to not only have a corporate blog, but to participate — and contribute to it. In that respect, we’re all a lot like children, and our blog posts are our babies. Before long, we see people proudly sending their first posts, or their most popular posts to their moms (don’t laugh – I do!) – or significant others – or posting on Facebook walls and sharing with friends. See what I mean – it’s all about the little things.

The Fun Theory. And you know what, that’s the fun part. Changing behavior when it comes to social media often means making time in our day-to-day work activities for something new. Much like the Volkswagen Fun Theory and the amazing Piano stairs, before long, new is the new norm.

Every time I watch any of the videos of The Fun Theory campaign, they make me smile. And I marvel at the genius behind them. Fun. So simple. Are you smiling? If not, I’ll bet it’s because you’ve not yet watched that video.

Numbers Can Be Fun Too. Because I’m a geek, what’s even more fun for me is showing clients how to watch their web analytics and see the fruits of their corporate blogging labors blossom.

I remember when I first started blogging, I was delighted to have ten people read one of my blog posts. I’m no less delighted today, when I have hundreds read my posts. Having analytics on your blog and, even more importantly, looking at them regularly, can help you plot the road map to success.

Success. That can be a myriad of things. But, when it relates to social media and the corporate blog, if done correctly, it can mean more traffic to your website, more brand awareness, more prospective customers, more leads, more opportunities, more sales. And oh yes, those things are a whole lotta fun, too. I’ll leave you with some stats on corporate blogging that you might find interesting:

43% of US companies are projected to put an emphasis on blogging in 2012, up from 34% in 2009 (eMarketer).

The company blog leads all social channels when it comes to acquiring leads. (Hubspot)*

34% of US companies use blogging for marketing purposes. (Hubspot)*

There’s a 67% increase in sales for companies that blog over companies that don’t blog. (Hubspot)*

Still kicking around the idea of starting a corporate blog, or trying to get inspired to contribute regularly to the one you already have? Hopefully this post will help you get going. If not, call me, I have a degree in Professional Nagging.

Great article. However, “mediums” is not a word. Television is a medium. Radio is a medium. Television and radio, collectively, are media. The confusion arises from referring to the ‘mainstream media’ as a single subject (as in “the mainstream media is a dying force in marketing”) but the way to make a plural is not to add an ‘s’ to the singular form.

I teach media culture, theory, and practice at the University of Waterloo. Every year I try to teach my students this distinction. Every year I assign them blog posts like this one to read, that undoes it all! Please help!

Anonymous

Hey Aimee,

I tried to send an email to you, but your server rejected it (waaaa).

Thanks for keeping me on the straight and narrow with regard to the semantics involved – I appreciate it.

My overriding hope, however, is that when I write a post like this one that the broader message is clear. And, in this case, it’s that when you can endeavor to make change fun, it’s not as difficult to get people to buy in. And participate. That’s the reality of what I struggle with on a daily basis, because for most people, change and/or learning something new is not fun.

You are most welcome to write a guest post for the V3 blog on the topic of media v. medium if you would like – I’m sure other bloggers would rather get it right than the alternative (which is what I attempted to email you about).

Thanks again for coming by – and for your feedback. I appreciate it!

Anonymous

Ah Shelly, I had fun reading this post and have shared it roundly. I think coming at the topic from the direction of incorporating fun into the process is something not unrelated to genius. Nicely done. *applauding from my chair*

http://dadcreates.com Chris Davis

Great post. I’ve been pushing uphill for our company blog for a while. Fun is an issue and I’m going take some of these points and really give it a go. Thanks!

Anonymous

Keep after it. We find that fun helps – as do stats. When a client can see readership – and traffic – to their corporate blog growing, that’s a little bit of magic, too!

Anonymous

Thanks Allen. I think anything is better when you can make it fun. Now, if only I was more timely about responding to blog comments. WTH is up with ME????